Somali refugees flown back to chaos

Saturday 19 June 2004 19.47 EDT
First published on Saturday 19 June 2004 19.47 EDT

The controversial Home Office decision to send failed asylum seekers back to Somalia ignored advice from its own officials, who discovered during a fact-finding mission that the country was so dangerous that they had to abandon plans to travel to the capital, Mogadishu. Instead they conducted their research from the safety of Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.

Human rights groups have condemned as indefensible the decision to send asylum seekers back to the only country judged by the Refugee Council to have no government at all, when the Home Office was told by the UN that Somalia was too lawless to visit.

The introduction to the mission's report states that members had planned to visit Mogadishu, but after consultation with the UN Security Co-ordinator (Unsecoord), they decided against it.

'The security situation in the city is still extremely fluid and fragile and Mogadishu is still at the highest category of risk, according to Unsecoord security assessment,' said the report. James Bennett of the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate was joined on the trip by delegates from Norway, Denmark and Finland.

The visit, which took place in January, was never publicised because its findings were so embarrassing to the government, which had already decided it needed to act on the large numbers of Somali refugees coming to Britain. More than 5,000 Somalis sought asylum in Britain last year, by far the highest number from a single country. Amnesty International is currently investigating claims that six asylum seekers who were sent back to Mogadishu are stranded in Dubai after they failed to get flights to Somalia.

Evidence gathered by the team in Nairobi from aid agencies, refugee organisations and people fleeing the violence themselves suggested that rape, kidnappings and banditry are endemic. Returning refugees were judged to be particularly at risk because they are thought to have money earned during their time abroad.

The mission was particularly worried by warnings from Simone Wolken of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, one of the few agencies still operating in the country. Wolken said the situation in Somalia had deteriorated in 2003 and that 'the culture of violence and weapons and disrespect for life have become more prevalent'.

A paper from the UN objected to the forced return of any asylum seekers to the south of the country. According to UNHCR: 'Lives continue to be threatened by violence, crime, clan feuds, lack of justice as well as poverty. Furthermore, humanitarian agencies have real problems gaining access to many areas. Militia loyal to different strongmen succeed one another in a perpetual move to establish a sustainable control of certain areas.

'There is a constant fear of abrupt change in clan balance shaking territorial power bases. This often leads to conflicts between clans and factions. Lack of any effective government administration may render it impossible for countries with rejected Somali asylum seekers to embark on any comprehensive and co-ordinated dialogue aiming at removing such cases.'

Richard Williams of the Refugee Council said: 'It beggars belief that the Home Office thinks it is acceptable to send people back to Mogadishu. It is the only place on earth without a government. It is really quite extraordinary.'

News of the abandoned mission comes as the Refugee Council claims that plans to harmonise European asylum policy will put the lives of refugees in danger. The European Council on Refugees and Exiles will warn today against plans to reform the asylum policies of other EU countries to bring them in line with Britain's legislation.